Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD Makes New $1.84 Million Investment in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 5,515 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,837,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Fairman Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on CAT shares. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $376.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $399.00 price objective (up from $390.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $336.31.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $345.31 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $340.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $344.05. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $223.76 and a 12 month high of $382.01. The company has a market capitalization of $167.44 billion, a PE ratio of 15.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.53 by $0.46. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.58% and a return on equity of 59.88%. The business had revenue of $16.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.91 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.55 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.88 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, June 12th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to purchase up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $962,272.78. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at $962,272.78. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $527,800.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,480,250. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,668 shares of company stock valued at $2,665,760 over the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Caterpillar

Caterpillar Inc manufactures and sells construction and mining equipment, off-highway diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives in worldwide. Its Construction Industries segment offers asphalt pavers, compactors, road reclaimers, forestry machines, cold planers, material handlers, track-type tractors, excavators, telehandlers, motor graders, and pipelayers; compact track, wheel, track-type, backhoe, and skid steer loaders; and related parts and tools.